Conventional polymeric binders are used today to repel water to enable substrate materials (e.g., corrugated paper products such as cardboard, etc.), treated with such binders, to retain their physical properties when exposed to small amounts of moisture. Such conventional polymeric binders tend to have some level of moisture sensitivity and have limitations with respect forming a strong adhesive bond with the substrate material (hereinafter, collectively referred to as “conventional binders”).
Such conventional binders tend to lack durability, lack resistance to wetting of the substrate, and/or lose their adhesive properties when exposed to a significant amount of moisture, such as, for example, when subjected to precipitation, high humidity, shipping and handling, etc. This lack of durability enables the conventional binder to migrate (e.g., move within and/or on the surface of a substrate) when exposed to moisture, heat and/or friction (e.g., during normal shipping and handling, storage, etc.), which can cause the substrate to degrade, come apart or otherwise fail to maintain their structural integrity. Furthermore, conventional binders tend to migrate resulting in a weak bond with surfaces on and/or substrates within which they are intended to adhere. Additionally, conventional wax-based binders tend to lose their adhesive and water repellant characteristics on flexible surfaces (e.g., due to cracking, bond failure, etc.).
Additionally, other conventional binders, such as standard bulk polymers, tend to exhibit poor bonding qualities to surfaces that are traditionally difficult to adhere to, such as metal, glass, aluminum foil, hard plastic, etc. Such polymers can also have difficulty adhering to rigid surfaces and non-rigid surfaces. Standard bulk polymers developed to exhibit strong bonding qualities tend to permit wetting of the substrate and, thus, exhibit only limited hydrophobic properties.
Conventional binders are usually made using a surfactant-stabilized emulsion polymerization process that includes providing an emulsified monomer mix into a polymerization vessel. The monomer is usually emulsified with a mixture of nonionic and anionic surfactants, which provide stability to the emulsified droplet as well as the final latex spheres. However, such conventional binders are water-sensitive materials and do not prevent re-wetting of the dried polymer films.
Thus, what is needed is a binder and/or adhesive that possesses strong hydrophobicity that resists and/or precludes wetting of the substrate material while exhibiting strong bonding qualities with flexible or rigid substrates, increased durability, greater peel strength, and resistance to migration within the substrate when exposed to moisture, heat, or friction.